Understanding Activities, Aspects, and Impacts in the EMS

1. Understanding Activities, Aspects, and Impacts in the EMS

2. Objectives of this Overview • Know definitions of activity, aspect, and impact • Recognize importance of significant aspects to the EMS • Learn EMS requirements for aspects identification

3. Why do this? Managing Aspects vs. Impacts • It is more prudent and more efficient to manage “how” you interact with the environment than to manage “what” you have done to the environment • An EMS is built around identifying, prioritizing, controlling, and improving upon, those elements of the organization that interact with the environment

4. Environmental Aspects and Impacts-ISO 14001 Definition ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS Elements of an organization’s activities, products or services which can interact with the environment. (For example: wastewater discharges, air emissions, resource consumption, energy usage, ecosystem alterations, etc.) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS Any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partly resulting from an organization’s activities, products, or services (based on the aspects, for example: air emissions impacts the air by degrading the air quality).

5. More on Environmental Aspects • Aspects are “cause”, impact is the “effect” • Aspects can be: • direct or indirect • normal, abnormal, or emergency • past, present, or future • Aspects address not only waste stream, but resource consumption, energy, and other “non-traditional” factors (noise, odor, visual)

6. Activities, Products and Services • This is where you describe what you do at your facility – mostly “activities” for Feds • Consider mission – what ‘facility’ is designed to do - e.g. Fisheries research • Consider activities that support the mission – e.g. Biological Sampling • Consider actions that are both regulated and not regulated e.g. commuting to work

7. Aspect Analysis - Examples of Activities • Mission related operations • Maintenance • Motor vehicle fleet operations • Wastewater treatment • Solid waste handling and disposal • Raw material and chemical handling • Bulk storage of fuels • Administrative and employee activities • Engineering • Purchasing

8. Aspect: Waste generation Material usage Fuel usage Air emissions Chemical consumption Energy consumption Not an aspect: Improve air quality – this is an objective P2 – this is an objective Vehicle maintenance – this is a activity Water pollution – this is an impact Examples of Aspects

9. Activity, Product, or Service Aircraft operations Bus transportation and maintenance Environmental Aspect Jet fuel consumption Jet fuel releases (potential) Noise generation Gasoline consumption Electricity consumption Solid waste generation Water consumption Waste water generation Examples

10. Activity, Product, or Service Vehicle maintenance Environmental Aspect Hazardous waste generation Gasoline consumption Noise generation Electricity consumption Solid waste generation Water consumption Waste water generation Release of volatiles Examples

11. Activity, Product, or Service Office work Environmental Aspect Electricity consumption Water consumption Waste water generation Release of ozone depleting substances in air cooling units (potential) Solid waste generation Heavy metals “use” in computers Examples

12. Activity, Product, or Service Cleaning offices Playing field upkeep (golf course, softball field, parade ground) Environmental Aspect Electricity consumption Solid waste generation Waste water generation Water consumption Waste water generation Runoff from pesticide usage Gasoline consumption Grass clipping generation Examples

13. Identify the Impacts of Aspects • Once the aspects are identified, you must identify the impact(s) associated with each one • This can be done using the same process you used for aspects, except there might be more involvement of environmental staff to assess impacts • List impacts along with aspects

14. Air emissions (exhaust) Water consumption Fuel release (accidental spills) Fuel release (accidental spills) Noise generation Energy consumption (lights left on) Paper recycled Air quality degraded Water resource depleted Storm water contaminated Soil contaminated Area nuisance Increased CO2 from coal-fired power plant emissions Landfill space conserved, raw materials conserved Examples of Aspects & Impacts AspectsImpacts

15. In Closing- Tips for Effective Aspects Identification and Rating • Be comprehensive • Do not pre-judge! Inventory completely; you have the opportunity to prioritize later • Sort by activity, product, or service; and identify impacts • Significance criteria change over time; all relative. Should never have a situation with no significant aspects (as per continual improvement commitment) • “Aspect” is considered significant although environmental impact is used to make significance determination • Aspects not considered significant will not be carried through the system • Significant aspects affect and drive all other parts of system! “If you must control, it must be significant”.

16. 1. List activities, products & services 2. Identify Aspects of each activity, product or service 3. Identify and list Impacts 4. Rate Significance of Aspects & Impacts -Categorize severity -Determine frequency -Determine risk ranking 5. Categorize environmental consequences 6. Pollution Prevention Assessment 7. Determine objectives & targets 8. Develop Operational Controls Aspects & Impacts Analysis